New Jersey governor Chris Christie has announced his presidential bid in 2016 last Tuesday in Livingston High School, Livingston, New Jersey. Despite his low approval rate, according to The New York Times, Christie is confident in his decision.
CNN reported that the New Jersey governor is struggling to gain any grip on the voter's good side for his campaign. Yet, he is currently the 14th major candidate for the GOP nomination.
Looking back in 2012, Christie was urged by the Republican Party backers to run for the GOP's nomination. He declined to give way to former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. As stated by ABC News, Romney seriously considered Christie as a running mate in the last presidential election.
His rise as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination was due to his actions after the wake of super storm Sandy. However, Christie has been the focus of several controversies since then.
One prime example is that Christie was seen in a photograph hugging Democratic president Barack Obama. Another controversy to hit the governor was when his staff orchestrated a traffic jam on the on the George Washington Bridge into Manhattan. The governor's staff closed two lanes of the bridge under the notion of a "traffic study." A lot of commuters were suddenly caught in the confusion which was later dubbed as "Bridgegate." Christie's popularity went in a downward spiral with the populous ever since.
The people of New Jersey have also made complains about their pension. In 2011, Christie signed a law requiring state employees to pay more towards their benefits. The pay-off was that the state would make long-deferred payments. The plan failed when Christie's budget ran out two years ago and the state was forced to withdraw on the payment.
Currently, Christie's approval ratings from the people in New Jersey ranks amongst the lowest of all governors in the United Sates. Even with all the bad news and shortcomings as governor, there still some who render their support to Christie. While it may be a long shot, his authenticity might give him a small bit of fighting chance. Some political analysts believe that there may be potential as he still has some time to raise his popularity. What is clear now is that Christie's mojo was mostly lost over the years running the state of New Jersey.
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